While the Project Scorpio is still some time away, Microsoft have recently released the Xbox One S, drawing quite a lot of attention to themselves and making many people consider the purchase. It’s a nice upgrade to the base Xbox One, but is it worth the price? According to the comments of many critics recently, it looks like Microsoft definitely have a good deal in that package.
The company has been working hard to bring attractive offers to the market related to the Xbox One S as well, and for example, interested buyers can currently get it with a bonus of one free game, as well as $50 in store credit that can be used towards the purchase of another one.
It’s interesting to note that the selection of free games comes from a “secret library”, although we don’t doubt that the details of that will become clear sooner or later, as Internet users will hurry to share their findings as soon as something has been discovered.
What’s new in the console exactly? Gamers will get extra fidelity in their graphics, first and foremost, as the Xbox One S allows them to view their content at a stunning 4K resolution. In addition, various special playback features related to Bluray have been added too, making the console not only a great gaming machine, but the perfect multimedia center for the home as well.
Microsoft are also pushing hard to make Cortana, their digital assistant, more prominently featured in their platforms. We’ve already seen her added to Windows 10 in various forms, and now the Xbox One S comes with full support for her. Cortana was already available on the Xbox One’s standard edition, but it looks like Microsoft are trying to make this console support her on a more “native” level, so it will be interesting to see where that goes.
For the price that Microsoft are asking for this console – which is currently $299 for the basic version – it’s a pretty good deal, according to most critics. As long as the company provides adequate post-release support for the console and ensures that they meet the demands of their users with regards to important software features, it should be a nice addition to any Xbox fan’s collection.
The release of this console, as well as the PlayStation 4 Pro, opened some people’s eyes to the realization that the console market is changing a lot. Consoles used to be designed and developed with a 10-year life cycle predicted for them, and this was the norm. Nowadays however, the market has changed a lot, and this is no longer a sustainable model.
The industry is moving very rapidly, much more so than before, and 10 years is a huge period of time for all the changes that the gaming industry sees. It’s 2016 now – just 9 years ago, in 2007, “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” came out and was considered cutting-edge technology with its engine.
Because of this, we expect to see companies releasing new consoles more and more frequently in order to keep up with the changing market situation. However, some gamers aren’t exactly pleased at this proposition, and it’s not hard to guess why. After all, it’s one thing to pay for a new console and know that it’ll be usable in the next 10 years or so, but another to have to keep upgrading every few years.